The Sculpture of Frances Rich

mnsss109 Frances Rich Papers, 1914-1980 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by mnsss. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

2003

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Laura Cutter. 2003-06-12 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mnsss109 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Frances Rich Papers, 1914-1980 Finding Aid MS 129 Revised 2002 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Rich, Frances Frances Rich Papers1914-1980 MS 129 4 boxes; 3 volumes, oversized materials (1.5 linear ft.) Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Sculptor; Director, Smith College Public Relations; and Officer, United States Naval Reserve, World War II. Focuses primarily on her career as a sculptor, with a small amount of material on her work (as student and staff) at Smith College and in U.S. Navy. Material includes correspondence, biographical articles, research files, clippings, exhibit catalogs (sculptures of notable people), posters, scrapbooks, and photographs. English. Biographical Note

Frances Rich was born in Spokane, Washington in 1910, daughter of actress Irene Rich. She received a B.A. from Smith College in 1931. In 1933 she met sculptor, Malvina Hoffman, and studied with her in Paris for two years. On her return to the U.S., Rich did intensive work at the Boston Museum School and established her own studio in New York City. Between 1937 and 1940 she was a resident student at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she met sculptor Carl Milles, with whom she worked for the next eighteen years. She has been featured in many publications and has exhibited in major art centers. Her works include portrait busts at Smith College; the Army-Navy Nurse Monument in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.; a bronze pelican in front of Pelican Building, University of California, Berkeley; marble bust of Alice Stone Blackwell for the Boston Public Library; and portrait busts of Lotte Lehmann, Margaret Sanger, Diego Rivera, Katharine Hepburn, and others. Rich was a Lieutenant Director in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1942 to 1946 and Director of Public Relations at Smith College from 1947 to 1950. Frances Rich died in 2007.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Papers focus primarily on Rich's career as a sculptor, with a small amount of material on her work as Director of Smith College Public Relations, and her service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Types of material include correspondence, biographical articles, research files, clippings, exhibit catalogs, posters, scrapbooks (including a scrapbook of her student years at Smith College), and photographs of her work and family. Photographs, exhibition catalogs, and correspondence document her sculptures of such notable people as Lotte Lehmann, Diego Rivera, Katherine Hepburn, Margaret Sanger, and Alice Stone Blackwell. The Papers are arranged as follows: Biographical materials, Smith College, U.S. Navy, Artwork, and Exhibitions. Biographical materials consists of articles, photographs, interviews, correspondence, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks. The Smith College section includes materials from Rich's time as both a student and the Director of Public Relations. The U.S. Navy material includes photographs, correspondence and articles from Rich's time as Lieutenant Director in the U. S. Navy Reserve. Artwork consists mostly of photographs of Rich's work, but also contains some related correspondence. The Exhibitions section includes primarily photographs and correspondence regarding exhibits by Rich.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

The copyright owner of this collection is unknown. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Frances Rich Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Additions to the Collection

Periodic additions are expected.

History of the Collection

Frances Rich donated her papers to the Sophia Smith Collection from 1981 to 1996.

Finding aid revised in 2002 by Gayla Spaulding, intern.

Search Terms Blackwell, Alice Stone, 1857-1950 Hepburn, Katharine, 1909- Lehmann, Lotte Rich, Frances Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966 Sculptors--United States--History--20th century--Sources Smith College--Students--History--Sources United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve--History--Sources Women sculptors--United States-History--20th century--Sources Additional Information BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS 1 1 Newspaper clippings, 1975-77, n.d. 1 2 Articles about Rich, 1932-81 1 3 Newspaper clippings, 1931-77, n.d. 1 4 Interview by Mayme Ober Paak, n.d. 1 5-6 Scrapbooks, 1952-59 1 7 Correspondence: miscellaneous, 1931-58, 1977 Photographs 1 8 Frances Rich, 1914-77 1 9 Frances Rich with others, n.d. 1 10 Frances Rich with Irene Rich, n.d. 1 11 Irene Rich alone, circa 1941 1 12 Studios, Hope Ranch, 1954 1 Shumway Ranch, 1968 1 13 Frances Rich with Diego Rivera painting a fresco of Rich, n.d. 1 14 Lotte Lehmann, 1953 SMITH COLLEGE 2 1 Student scrapbook (contents only), 1931 2 2 Student and alumnae articles, 1931, 1979 Director of Public Relations, 1947-50 2 3 Director of Public Relations, 1947-50 2 4 Correspondence: "This is Smith College", 1949 2 5 Press releases, newspaper clippings U.S. NAVY 2 6 Photographs, 1941-45 2 7 Second anniversary celebration, 1944 2 8 Events: Smith and Northampton, 1939-45 2 9 Correspondence: oral history of Admiral Nimitz and the Waves, 1969-70 ARTWORK 3 1 General, 1931-46 3 2 Laura Scales, 1936 3 3 Army/Navy nurse, Arlington National Cemetery, 1937 3 4 Diego Rivera, 1941 3 5 General, 1950-60 3 6 Lotte Lehmann, 1952 St. Francis 3 7 Photographs, 1952-66 3 8 Clippings, articles and printed materials, 1952-66 3 9 Questing Madonna, 1954 3 10 St. Joseph, 1956 3 11 Margaret Sanger, 1956-57 3 12 Pelican, 1957 3 13 Seated female figure, 1958 3 14 Alice Stone Blackwell, 1958-59 3 15 Katherine Hepburn (four separate works), 1958, 1961 3 16 General, 1960-70 3 17 Our Lady of Combermere, 1960 3 18 St. Catherine of Sienna, 1968 3 19 General, 1970-86 3 20 Roadrunner, 1972 3 21 Spirit of the Grape, 1976-77

[See also Oversize Materials]

3 22 Birds in Flight, 1980 3 23 Photographs containing more than one work or unidentified works, n.d. 3 24 Drawings (originals), 1944-46, n.d. EXHIBITIONS 4 1 California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1955 3 2-4 Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1969, 1977, n.d. 4 5 Catalogues, 1952-73 4 6 Correspondence to Priscilla Cunningham, 1979-88 BOOKS ON SHELF Armitage, Merle, The Sculpture of Frances Rich, Manita Press (four copies), 1974 OVERSIZE MATERIALS Flat File Photographs: Spirit of the Grape; Birds in Flight; Jane, Frances and Irene Rich; Frances and Irene Rich, Morris Denfeldt Flat File Certificate from the American Bicentennial Research Institute, 1974 Flat File Posters: St. Francis, Spirit of the Grape, Seated Woman with Child, Harboe Nude Flat File Plans for Rich Studies and caretakers cottage, Shumway Ranch (5), geographical map of area